Confession can’t be used in shooting case: Police failed to read suspect his rights before interrogating him; charges dropped

ROCHESTER — A Strafford County Superior Court judge this week ruled that Rochester police illegally obtained the confession of shooting suspect Anthony Barratt, who confessed to firing a weapon at an occupied pickup truck before his Miranda Rights were read to him.

On Wednesday, prosecutors dropped the two felony charges against Barratt, due to insufficient evidence.

“The police subjected Barratt to custodial interrogation without first giving him his Miranda Rights,” states Houran’s ruling.

Barratt, 19, of Dewey Street in Rochester, had been charged with reckless conduct, alleging he fired a gun at the windshield of an occupied pickup truck on Jan. 28, 2012, on Bridge Street. Police say the incident occurred as three pedestrians, including the shooter, got into a verbal altercation with the driver of the truck. No one was injured in the incident.

He was also charged with falsifying physical evidence, alleging he and the second suspect, Devon Smith, returned to the scene of the crime to collect the bullet casing, to hinder the police investigation.

Both charges were nolle prossed Wednesday, meaning they will not be prosecuted.

Barratt, who was 17 years old at the time of the shooting and the police interrogation, was brought to police custody on Feb. 22, 2012, after police obtained a search warrant for weapons at Smith’s home on Lafayette Street. Before executing the warrant, police put Smith’s home under surveillance, waiting for Smith to leave the residence, according to testimony given by two detectives during the April 4 evidence suppression hearing.

Then, Police Detective Christopher Mangum knocked on the door, and Barratt answered. Mangum then grabbed Barratt by the wrist and led him away from the home, where he then handcuffed and searched Barratt, according to testimony given at the hearing.

Because Barratt was only 17 years old, police took him into protective custody. Officers told him he was not under arrest, but he was not free to leave until he could be released to a parent or guardian.

Barratt was transported in handcuffs to the police station, and then escorted to an interview room on the second floor of the station, where the handcuffs were taken off. The interview room is not open to the public, and a key code is needed to exit the room.

Police Detective Sgt. Anthony Deluca made attempts to contact Barratt’s relatives, so that Barratt could leave the station, but he was unable to immediately reach a guardian, according to Deluca’s testimony. He asked Barratt’s grandmother, who was in Florida, whether police could interview Barratt, and she replied that police would have to first obtain permission from his mother, who could not be reached by Deluca.

In the interview room, Barratt agreed to a recorded interview, and Mangum began asking him about his relationship to Smith, who was a suspect in the case.

Mangum stated he was giving Barratt a “free shot,” and that Barratt would be leaving the police station that day no matter what was said.

“Very shortly afterward, Barratt began making incriminating statements,” states the judge’s ruling.

Barratt confessed to police that he fired the weapon at the pickup truck in self-defense, according to the motion to suppress evidence filed by Barratt’s attorneys in September.

The two detectives then stepped out of the room and talked for about four minutes. Upon returning to the room, they read Barratt his Miranda Rights. Barratt then waived those rights and began discussing the shooting further.

After some time, Barratt left the police station, after his brother’s girlfriend picked him up, and police then obtained a warrant for his arrest.

According to Houran’s ruling, police violated Barratt’s due process rights protected by the Constitution.

By law, “Miranda warnings are required when a defendant undergoes custodial interrogation,” and defendants are entitled to Miranda protections during either formal arrest, or restraint of freedom of movement, states Houran’s analysis of the case.

Houran’s ruling states that under the circumstances — including police’s use of handcuffs, the locked interview room, and the fact that Barratt wasn’t free to leave — Barratt’s freedom of movement was curtailed to a significant degree, and police should therefore have read him Miranda Rights before asking questions about the case.

Even the confession that came during the second portion of the interview, after the Miranda Rights were read, would not be admissible in court, because the second confession came just minutes after the unlawfully obtained confession, Houran ruled. He stated there would be a risk that the second confession would simply be a reiteration of Barratt’s earlier statements to police.

According to court documents, the reckless conduct charge was nolle prossed by prosecutors both because of insufficient evidence, and because the victim in the case is now deceased. The falsifying physical evidence charge was nolle prossed only due to insufficient evidence.

Smith, 23, of 7 Lafayette St. Apt. A, who reportedly told Barratt to shoot at the pickup truck, had been ordered a suspended prison sentence of 1 to 3 years in connection to the case. He will not have to serve the sentence as long as he remains on good behavior.

In March, a grand jury indicted Smith on a felony criminal threatening charge, for allegedly telling a woman he would kill her while holding a machete. This month, he was indicted on a felony alleging he was growing less than an ounce of marijuana at his home, which is within 1,000 feet of a school.

While Barratt will not be prosecuted in connection to the shooting, he still has a pending receiving stolen property charge, alleging he sold two stolen diamond rings, valued at more than $1,500, to Rochester Pawn in November 2012. The rings were stolen from a St. James Terrace home earlier that month, according to police.